After giving birth, a toddler’s health becomes the top priority and protecting your precious child from infections, if he/ she gets any. Kids may get in contact with all kinds of infections in preschools. Contagious infections are always difficult to fight. One such common disease among kids is scabies. Scabies in toddlers is very common these days.
But if you come to know about scabies symptoms and scabies treatment then it won’t be difficult for you to cure it.
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What Is Scabies?
It is an infestation caused by the mite that causes it, Sarcoptes scabies. The mite is generally very tiny, not clearly visible to naked eyes. They are very thin, about 0.2mm to 0.4mm long, and require magnifying glasses to see them. It doesn’t discriminate on any grounds and can spread anywhere. They occur worldwide and, in all races, and almost social classes.
Generally, many infections are caused by poor hygiene. But scabies is not an indication of that. In other words, they are small mites that dig tunnels on the skin’s surface. It is an itchy skin condition, which can affect anyone-be babies, kids, or even adults too! Scabies in toddlers is usually transmitted by direct contact with the skin. In rare cases, it may also get transmitted by underwear or bedclothes, that have freshly been contaminated, by an already infected person. Their survival depends on what surface are they in. The mites can survive for only a few days either off the human body or animal body.
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Causes Of Scabies In Toddlers: –
Scabies in toddlers cannot be termed as an infection, but rather an infestation of Sarcoptes scabiei, on the outer layer of the skin. These mites first try to burrow and make their way to enter deep into the skin. This eventually leads to the appearance of rashes on the skin. Hence, these are called scabies rashes on toddlers. This infestation is extremely contagious and spreads through contact. In other words, it is a communicable disease.
These infections and outbreaks of this skin disease are very common in schools and kindergartens, where the toddlers come in contact with so many people. Scabies is a communicable disease, which breaks apart from the common presumption that infections are generally caused because of poor personal hygiene.
Signs and Symptoms: –
The scabies symptoms start to appear only after when the mite enters the skin and starts growing and spreading there. The itching generally begins 2 to 6 weeks after infestation in individuals or kids, who are not previously exposed to it. Whereas it takes 1 to 5 days to show symptoms in individuals previously exposed to this. Thus, the time period generally varies between 2 to 6 weeks and 4-5 days.
The most common scabies symptoms and signs in toddlers are: –
- Itching, Which Tends To Worsen At Night
- Rashes And Bumps On The Skin
- Sores Due To Scratching On The Itchy Rash
- The Development Of A Thick Crust On The Skin, Which Occurs Only In The Most Severe Cases Of Scabies
All these above symptoms usually tend to appear between the fingers and around the nails or various body parts. They also occur in places that are not visible, for example, due to wearing clothes or wearing jewelry. The rashes may also affect the toddler’s wrists, from the front, or in the folds of the armpits, elbows, and buttocks. They may also appear in the genitals as small itchy lumps.
The mites are transmitted from the body of an animal to any human, then the mites are generally found in areas, which come in direct contact with that animal. Thread-like tunnels may be visible as grey lines on the skin, but they are usually difficult to detect. The itching that the mites causes are intense which generally keeps the toddlers awake at night. Thus, it becomes unbearable at night.
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Treatment Of Scabies: –
Scabies treatment can also be done and cured well if diagnosed at the right time. Skin diseases are generally confused with other skin infections. Treatment should not be taken randomly, until it is properly diagnosed by a good doctor, following examination of skin scrapings for mites. The doctor may be able to diagnose this after examining the affected area properly and obtaining a skin sample for the same.
He may then prescribe certain relieving medications for your toddler, such as he may recommend you to use topical applications, like applying certain lotions on their body to soothe and relieve the skin. Experienced doctors advise all the family members once for a check-up, even if they haven’t developed any symptoms, because this may then be a precautionary step for your toddler.
Other treatment ways include regularly trimming your toddler’s nails, when you see them growing long so that they don’t hurt themselves up, by scratching the infectious area roughly. Itching may become severe too. For this, the doctor may recommend you to use antihistamines, so that it brings relief to the itching sensation, from time to time.
If your toddler develops a bacterial infection afterward due to repetitive scratching, then the pediatrician may prescribe to use of antibiotics. Thus, getting a whole examination once is particularly important for babies, pregnant women, or people who are already suffering from other types of skin diseases. Babies, especially those under 12 months of age require special treatment, as they are most vulnerable to developing this at such a tender age. The treatment also involves other forms of topical treatments, like the application of insecticidal cream, a soothing lotion or cream, or any other solution, as prescribed by the doctor.
Conclusion: –
Therefore, the best way to find out the symptoms of scabies is to keep a regular check on your child’s activities, such as excessive itching, etc., in a particular area. In this way, they won’t develop such skin infections easily.